oz miller man

got some friends who have been offered nsw state sponsorship in albury
anyone know much about the place?
work wise he`s a painter/decorator
she a special needs teacher
under conditions of the visa they will have to live in the area for 2 years and work a min 1 year
is their much work there?
how far is it to the coast?
how far to the mountains for winter ski/snowboard ?

all i know is its on the murry river and it has a fair size uni

any info i could pass on greatly appreciated

ozzieeagle

It's two towns actually, as over the Murray is the Victorian Border town of Wodonga. It's the largest town on the Murray, with a fairly substantial population, circa 100,000 I think. Consequently as far as country towns go, it would be one of the best for work opportunity as well.

It's a lot closer to Melbourne than Sydney, being around 3 hours away from Melbourne. If I had to do time in one of the Country towns (I'm a city lover so dont let my terminology put you/them off) Albury would just about get me through. Plenty of life along the Murray, Shepparton is close by, Bendigo isnt that far away, as are the NSW towns of Wagga and Deneliquin. Shouldnt have any problem getting work. Plus the size of the town means it would be a little less "redneck" than most. Great wine, plenty of restaurants, not exactly cosmopolitan, if they like boating and fishing they will be in heaven.

Quite a good location for getting to Sydney circa 6 hours Canberra 5 hours and Adelaide circa 8 hours. Plus they can probably get to the Gold Coast with one very long days driving ... 12/13 hours.

Yes the more I think about it, probably one of the best country towns you could choose to start off in.

A little bland for my tastes, then thats no different to every country town in Aus.

Good luck to them, they should go fine.

janette eley

Hi
I moved with my wife and 3 kids to Albury 6 months, like you guys we will stay here for 2 years until we have the choice to move anywhere in Aus. if we move at all.
Albury is a good place to stay as it offers everything any big town had back home in Scotland. does not have the infrastructure of the big cities but nevertheless offers choice in most areas. lots of shops and pubs but nightlife is relatively quiet compared to what was on offer back home.
Rental properties are usually plentiful especially around 3 bedrooms.
I work in the care sector as a support worker and found there was plenty opportunities, as for special needs teaching there is a school called wewak which teaches children with learning disabilities up until the age of 18.
Personally I will probably move to Melbourne to be next to family and friends but would have no hesitation in recommending Albury for a short stay or beyond. I know of ex pats who have lived here for a long time and have no interest in moving it is really down to the individuals involved.
With regards to the coast it is around 3 hours away and the ski centre in the snowfields approx 1 and a half hours away.
I hope i have been of help if you need anything else answered I will try to do so.
Jim, previously from Wishaw scotland

oz miller man

thanks for you replies
im going to pass the info on to my friends and suggest they jump on the forum to find more out.
i know i found this forum a great help when we moved over.
and albany sounds a ideal spot for them
i know craig loves his mountain biking and fishing so he will be in heaven

thanks again

Geelong Gent

Nice part of the country to live

Red_V_Roger

I thought with your user name, it was going to be a post about some of the flour and feed mills in that area. I'll just add to the comments that Albury airport now has good cheap flight connections to Sydney and Melbourne. A guy who I work with is looking at moving there. The current country town he lives in in 3 1/2 hours drive to Sydney, so he is thinking that living in Albury is better and to commute by flying.

They may also want to look out towards the town of Bright as thats a really nice area.

oz miller man

haha..i come from a town that has a big hovis factory and the mighty rufc..lol
this albury sounds like a great place and after having a look on realestate.com.au you can get a 3 bed home for less than $100,000.???or brand new home on land from$230,00?????
im sure my mates will take this sponsorship offer and i look forward to flying down from coolangata airport and checking it out...hour n half from the snow..brill

and its got to be better the rotherham!!

Red_V_Roger

Rank Hovis Rotherham was one of my UK customers, our company originally built the equipment in that mill....Believe they've shut that now.

Petals

I think Albury Wodonga is a great place and not being a large city you can still move around freely and get to work in a reasonable time which is a plus compared to living in Melbourne which is grid lock all the time these days.

My son moved to Yarrawonga about 40 mins from Albury and he will not return to live in Melbourne. 10 mins for him to ride his bike to school etc, river, clubs wineries. He is single 30 and has a great life. Lots of golf, cricket, skiing, darts, pubs galore.

There are lots of smaller country places within striking distance of Albury Wodonga too which are lovely in my view.

oz miller man

could have closed down now all the other industry in the area has (coal/steel )and replaced with meadowhall

i remember every time we drove past it as a kid i always said i wanted to work there when im older....think at the time it looked like something out of blade runner

oz miller man

red v
is that for st helens? or st george illawarra?

south yorks was never much of a league stronghold but my dad used to play for roth rangers
followed the sheff eagles for a bit. wear a rhinos shirt now and then to the pub for a bit of banter with the locals. yet to adopt an aussie club suppose ill try catch a titans game see how that grabs me

BadgeIsBack

I was in Wagga a few weeks and was really impressed. Might have also been the uni population too.

If you come off the Hume at Chiltern head across the border through Howlong and take the fast lanes across NSW there you pass through a one horse town called Brocklesbury. It is a really narrow road through a Victorian architectural landscape - blink and you will miss it. It looked slightly lost and forgotten and then I got back to the city to find my colleague's brother lives there.

ozzieeagle

Yehp I've been up that way quite a few times, I've got a mate that moved to Howlong.

Red_V_Roger

Defo St Helens....we are Shire Sharkies now

BadgeIsBack

Bizarre places. Can imagine what they were like in 1870. I wouldn't live there but you point out some geographical advantages.